New photos show Boston bomb suspect's capture

Jul. 19, 2013
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Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev raises his hand from a boat at the time of his capture by law enforcement authorities in Watertown, Mass., on April 19. / Sean Murphy, Massachusetts State Police via AP

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

by Michael Winter, USA TODAY

Angered by the Rolling Stone cover photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a Massachusetts State Police photographer has released previously unpublished images of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect, including one of the teenager emerging bloodied from a boat where he had hidden.

The photos, by Sgt. Sean Murphy, appeared Thursday in Boston Magazine. The magazine writes that Murphy, a tactical photographer and liaison to families of slain officers, released the 13 photos because he was angered by what he perceives as Rolling Stone's glamorized treatment of Tsarnaev.

One officer was killed and another wounded before Tsarnaev was captured April 19, hours after his brother died during a shootout with police in Watertown, Mass.

Murphy called the Rolling Stone cover "an insult to any person who has every worn a uniform of any color or any police organization or military branch, and the family members who have ever lost a loved one serving in the line of duty.

"The truth is that glamorizing the face of terror is not just insulting to the family members of those killed in the line of duty, it also could be an incentive to those who may be unstable to do something" to get on the magazine's cover, he wrote.

"This is the real Boston bomber," he said of his photos of Tsarnaev's capture. "Not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover."

Rolling Stone has defended its coverage, saying it was within its tradition of "serious and thoughtful coverage" of important cultural and political issues." Rolling Stone editors said that their hearts go out to the victims of the April 15 bombings but that the cover story was an attempt to grapple with an important issue.

Murphy said he was speaking only for himself, not the state police. State police spokesman David Procopio said the agency did not authorize the release of the photos and will not release them to other media.

Boston Magazine editor John Wolfson later said on the magazine's website that Murphy was "relieved of duty" and has a hearing next week.

One of the images, taken with a telephoto lens, shows Tsarnaev climbing out of the boat with blood covering the left side of his head. His right arm is across his chest.

Boston Magazine says it would publish a "more complete collection" in its September issue.